The Toronto Blue Jays were supposed to have this series wrapped up—the Thanos of October baseball simply snapping away the competition. But it turns out that the Mariners had the real power all this time—they stole straight games off the Blue Jays. And with history in their favor, Toronto’s in a dangerous spot right now. MLB teams that take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven postseason series have gone on to advance almost 84% of the time.

Only a handful of teams, like Boston, have even crawled back from the hole they dug early on. Now the series shifts to Seattle, and the Mariners are completely armed with a rotation of George Kirby, Luis Castillo, and Bryan Woo. Essentially, they are ready to shut the door in front of their home crowd. So the harsh truth is that the momentum that Toronto had just vanished in thin air, and the one man who could help is silent—no points for guessing—Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 

And well, his silence has been deafening. Through two games against Seattle, he is 0 for 7 with a single walk. He is hitting the ball hard, but into the ground. And now even the Jays’ loyalists are turning their backs on him.

Nick Gosse, host of Jays Digest, captured that frustration perfectly on his podcast: “Right now, he’s smoking the ball into the ground. He’s pulling off a lot of his swings, and that’s a problem. Is it the main problem behind them losing? It’s one of the key reasons, because this team beats with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. When Vlad is hitting the ball well, everyone follows suit… Now, in this game and the game before, Vladdy hasn’t been doing much, and the rest of the offense hasn’t either.” Well, everyone remembers his recent heroics against the Yankees—in fact, it was just last week. He went 9 for 17 in that series with towering home runs in each of those first three games. He was carrying the team on his back, and when he is, as such, super locked in, everything works, and even fringe hitters like Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk start producing. Now

You can say Guerrero’s bat is the heartbeat for the team. And even he knows that he has to do better. Vladimir mentioned after the Game 2 loss, “We need to get better offensively. For example, myself I had a big at-bat and couldn’t come through… That’s baseball. We need to go out there and win games.” But the lineup is freezing over, and even A-Rod took a dig at Vladdy!

And with Bo Bichette sidelined, they are not in the best place. Bichette’s injury at the end of the regular season has kept him off the ALCS roster, and without him, the lineup feels hollow. Manager John Schneider is hopeful that Bichette could hit and return if things go right. But for that to happen, Jays need to survive in this game, which clearly does not seem to be happening now. And as for Bo, he might have already played his last game with the Jays!

Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette could be headed to the Angels! 

The Los Angeles Angels might not be going on a free agency shopping spree this winter. Not because they can’t, but because they won. The team has the money, but they are expected to have a tighter grip on the finances this off-season. And so, if they do decide to make one big move, it better count—and this is where Bichette comes in. The Jays slugger has not played since September 6 due to his PCL sprain, but his name carries weight.

Bichette will be heading into free agency, and according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Angels could make a run at him once the Toronto Blue Jays’ postseason ends. And honestly, the fit does make sense. Defensively, Bichette’s not a Gold Glove, but he actually graded out as the worst shortstop in baseball last season in defensive fWAR. But a move to second base, next to the young standout Zach Neto. It is a position that could help preserve Bichette’s health and also mask some of those range and arm issues that have crept up over the years.

Offensively, though, he is everything that the Angels need. His bat-to-bat skills are great; a .311 average and a strikeout in the 86th percentile show that he is reliable on the plate. He doesn’t chase power; he works consistently, and that’s what Anaheim needs. At 28 years old, Bichette is entering his prime, and he could be an asset for the team. Plus, his father, Dante Bichette, once wore the Angels uniform, and the appeal hence can’t be more obvious.